welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. survivors of a massive typhoon in the philippines are facing tough challenges. most pressing is a lack of clean drinking water. the new u.s. ambassador to japan has arrived. caroline kennedy is expected to bolster relations between the two countries. and south korea hopes a

revised education system using information technology will help strengthen the academic abilities of its students. one of the most urgent needs for survivors of typhoon haiyan is access to clean drinking water. over a week after the massive storm made landfall in the philippines, the situation in the disaster zone remains chaotic. almost 1.5 million people have been forced from their homes. 70% of them, about 1.1 million people, have to live out in the open. philippine disaster management officials say they confirmed more than 1,000 deaths on friday alone. this brings the total number of people killed to 3,621. in tacloban, sanitary conditions are getting worse. water stations have been set up at a few locations, and a water truck is operating around the city. but even with those measures, there is still a serious shortage of drinking water.

evacuees at a school in central tacloban lined up to try and get something to drink when a water truck arrived for the first time in two days. the relief effort of the philippine government has been criticized as slow and inadequate. so more and more private individuals are taking matters into their own hands and taking supplies to typhoon-hit areas by themselves. nhk world's reporter has the story. >> reporter: i'm here at a bus station in manila, and people are flocking here to bring food and medical supplies to devastated areas. these people are about to board a bus heading for leyte island. the journey will likely take at least 24 hours. they carry with them as many emergency supplies as they can. rice, water, instant noodles and canned foods. to give to their families who are suffering. >> translator: it breaks my

heart watching the situation in the disaster area on tv. i have family members there. some relatives died. all the houses are gone. not one left standing. >> reporter: the bus company doesn't charge people taking aid to disaster-hit areas such as leyte and samar. there are now about 100 buses shuttling back and forth along the route. >> every day we are increasing our number. before we had eight daily trips. now we have been 16, up to 20 buses a day just to meet the demands of the devastated provinces. i think the private sector has to lend hand to speed up the recovery process. >> reporter: we met a typhoon survivor who came all the way to manila to look for supplies. he was about to make the return journey to his devastated home city in leyte.

he says very little official assistance has made it that far. >> translator: relief wasn't reaching us. it was taking too long, and so i hitched a ride on a large truck and came all the way to manila. i'm taking back medicine and food for my family in leyte. >> reporter: these passengers are heading into the unknown. they have little idea what challenges they will face when they arrive in the disaster zone. but with government relief efforts so lacking, ordinary people are stepping up and doing whatever they can. caroline kennedy has arrived in japan to take up her new post as u.s. ambassador.

she is the eldest daughter of former president john f. kennedy. kennedy and her husband landed on friday afternoon. she said she feels honored to serve as ambassador on behalf of u.s. president barack obama. >> i'm also proud to carry forward my father's legacy of public service. he had hoped to be the first united states president to visit japan. so it is a special honor for me to be able to work to strengthen the close ties between our two great countries. >> chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said he welcomes her appointment. >> translator: kennedy is close to the president, so i'm confident she'll be able to convey japan's position to him and help boost relations. i think she's the right person for the job.

>> kennedy is the first female u.s. ambassador to japan. she has little diplomatic or political experience but is well known at home and abroad. japan's nikkei average rallied, and that spilled over to some of the other asian markets. ron madison has been following the trading action. ron. >> yeah, that's right, big day for the japanese market. you have to go all the way back to may to see the kind of levels that the nikkei was hitting today. a lot of that had to do with the weaker yen. markets really being driven now by expectations that the world's major central banks will continue easing money policy. so let's do get a look now at what's going on with currencies. traders are cutting back on their holdings as safe haven assets like the yen. they are becoming more willing to take risks. right now dollar/yen at 100.40. some analysts are saying that participants sold the yen today after an economic adviser to japanese prime minister shinzo abe hinted at the possibility for further stimulus by the bank of japan. also, the yen fell to the 135

level against the euro. the first time that's happened in two weeks. right now at 135.04. now, as gene was saying, most asian markets closed higher today. tok tokyo's market shooting up nearly 2%, recovering that key 15,000 level which had been unseen for just about six months. in malaysia, the benchmark index there up 0.3%, 1,789. that is ahead of the release of the country's gdp economy. the malaysian economy grew 5% in the quarter. and european stocks are modestly higher at this hour. frankfurt is up by 0.1%. gains in london by 0.4%. paris's cac 40 is gaining nearly 0.2%. well, u.s. trade representative michael froman is urging those to make quick decisions. froman gave a speech at the annual business conference that

opened in washington on thursday. >> but this is the moment for all the tpp countries to demonstrate that they have the political will to get it done. all eyes are on japan. >> froman was asked by a participant in the conference whether the tpp member nations would be able to reach an agreement by the end of the year. he responded by saying the negotiations would remain tough, even if the participants extended the target date. froman stressed that now is the time to wrap up the talks. ministers from the member nations are expected to meet again next month. and south korea is one of the countries showing interest in joining the tpp talks. government officials held the first public hearing on the free trade deal in seoul. about 200 people participated. they included trade experts as well as citizens who had applied in advance to attend the hearing. at the session, some experts said that if the country did not join negotiations, that could bring disadvantages in competing against japan on the global

market. others voiced opposition saying there isn't much to gain from a tpp. they pointed out that the country should instead try to work ought a free trade agreement with china. some citizens asked for detailed explanations from the government on how the trade deal would affect domestic industries. members of a civic group opposed to the tpp interrupted those hearings there and were ordered by police to leave the room. the south korean government plans to decide whether to join the tpp talks after holding a series of hearings. big news from sony today. the new game console playstation has hit store shelves in north america. it's the company's first new model in seven years. in new york, just about 1,000 video game enthusiasts lined up in front of a sales counter. they rushed to receive the new product when sales began at midnight. officials of sony computer entertainment say the controller for the playstation 4 has a touch panel. and games stored in the server can be transferred and played on a smartphone or tablet. users can also share the game

screen with many others via the internet. >> i stayed here overnight, so yeah, i'm excited. tired but excited. >> well, the playstation series and other similar game machines are losing market share. that's because games designed for smartphones and tablets are becoming popular. sony aims to regain popularity with this latest product. all right. that is going to wrap it up for biz this week. let's get you a check of the markets.

the operator of the fukushima daiichi power plant says it will start removing spent fuel on monday from the number 4 reactor building. it's the first step tokyo electric power company will take toward decommissioning the crippled plant. >> translator: we decided to start removing fall on november 18th. >> the building contains more than 1,500 units of fuel rods. most of them are used and highly radioactive. the fuel is stored in a pool of water which contains the radioactive particles. tepco workers will remove it and place it in radiation-proof containers. they'll then transfer them to another location on the plant's premises. the building was badly damaged by a hydrogen explosion in march 2011. so engineers built a steel

structure equipped with a crane that will be used to remove the containers. they say the structure can resist earthquakes as strong as the one on march 11th. tepco officials will start with the unused fuel as they consider it less difficult to handle. they plan to remove the remainder by the end of 2014. the next step will be to remove fuel from the other three reactor buildings. as workers proceed with the decommissioning of the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant, they're faced with a familiar problem, disposing of highly radioactive waste. some japanese lawmakers are setting up a group to tackle that issue and find a long-term solution to the country's nuclear waste dilemma. the move comes after former prime minister koizumi called on prime minister shinzo abe to promptly end japan's dependence on nuclear power. koizumi cited difficulties

including sites with highly radioactive waste. the new group will include members of ruling coalition partner and the opposition democrats. the members plan to study how other countries manage their radioactive waste. they'll discuss a wide range of other issues including the possibility of developing new technology. they also plan to look into ways to decide where disposal sites will be located. mongolian government officials have released the text of a lecture the president made in north korea. it says no tyranny lasts forever. he spoke at the university in pyongyang. he was there in late october to mark 65 years of diplomatic ties. he said mongolia values fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression and the right to assembly. he said he believes in the power of freedom and that no tyranny lasts forever.

a footnote indicates the president was asked not to use the terms "democracy" or "market economy." north korea's state-run media reported he expressed confidence in the development of the two countries' ties. the mongolian president was the first foreign head of state to visit after jkim jong-un took power last year, but a summit meeting did not take place. south korea is well known for its enthusiasm for education. more than two-thirds of elementary and junior high school students attend cram schools and other private institutions. government officials are combining this national obsession with another korean strength, information technology. they're building a new education system using i.t. in the hope it will give young people an edge in the future. nhk world's reporter reports.

>> reporter: sejong is a fast-developing city in south korea's central region. teachers and students use state-of-the-art digital technology in the classrooms. the school provides free tablet computers to all students from the fourth to sixth grades. the tablets are linked by a cloud computing to touch panels. the school says the system makes learning faster and fun. teachers can use the panels to display the students' answers or ask questions back to the class. >> translator: math used to be hard. now it's fun.

>> reporter: the technology helps teachers assess how well students are grasping the lesson. this teacher frequently checks her students' comprehension by e-mail. she can post their work on charts. >> translator: some students struggled with math, but now the lessons interest them, and their concentration has improved. >> reporter: in big cities, they improve their grades by making use of the facilities behind me, but it's difficult for students in rural areas to reach a higher level of education. government officials are trying to bridge this gap with information technology. the town of illo is home to about 7,000 people. he is in the fifth grade. his family runs a cattle farm.

he helps out every day after school. last year he began using an online education site to build on his studies. provincial government officials developed the site with support from the central government using the site to reveal lessons on science and social studies. he can also explore topics in more depth. >> translator: i enjoy studying this way. there's a lot of animation, and the teachers answer my questions. it's a lot of fun. >> reporter: teachers say the cyber education system has improved the performance of students. they say it's opening doors for kids in an area where geography can make opportunities. >> translator: the data confirms

their academic results have improved. >> reporter: but some teachers are struggling to adjust to the change. they know the classes are popular, so they are helping each other without with unfamiliar i.t. skills. this is a state-run organization that promotes i.t.-based education. officials there say the switch to a digitized society is unstoppable. >> translator: it's for the benefit of students that we're making these changes. teachers understand this. and that they need to improve their classes. some may be resistant, but if we provide i.t. instruction courses, we think teachers will embrace these changes. >> reporter: south korean officials plan to spend at least $2 million on this project in the next two years.

the eventual aim is to create unlimited access to online education materials for everyone. nhk world, saejong. south korea has already started to export this i.t.-based education system. officials hope to not only boost the knowledge of students but also the country's reputation as an educational powerhouse. chinese president xi jinping is looking back on his first year in office. he's promised the markets will play a bigger role in the economy, and he's overseen a crackdown on corruption. but he's reminded of another challenge when he looks out his window. nhk world's tago has the view from beijing. >> reporter: xi jinping's administration released a long-term policy this week. he outlines plans to advance

economic reforms and improve the nation's well-being. but it is not clear how the plan can be carried out. there's a long road ahead. >> translator: president xi is trying hard to expose corrupt bureaucrats, but unscrupulous officials are everywhere. and for them, it's still business as usual. >> translator: the party members like the policy introduced in the third plenary session, but we want to see the policy actually being carried out. >> reporter: while members of the communist party met at the third plenary session on monday, he made his way through a low-income neighborhood. it's in beijing, home to many migrant workers.

he works for an environmental ngo. its members are trying to tackle the city's ever-worsening air pollution. so they check out people's living conditions. members want to convince residents to give up charcoal and use electricity or gas. but the ngo finds that changing people's lifesty is ha sell. many areas where migrant workers live are not classified as residential. power distribution is set up for commercial use. so if these people use electricity, they end up consuming double the amount of average homes. the residents have no choice but to heat their homes with low-cost charcoal. >> translator: is power expensive? >> translator: i don't often use electricity because it's too expensive. i always use charcoal.

>> translator: the problem is very complicated. migrant workers live under very tough conditions. i want to inform the government about the hardships these people face. so they can live in warmth during the winter. >> reporter: ngo workers also promote cleaner water and conserving forests. >> we'll also write open letters to maybe the central government or to the mep, to tell them how about the implementation and what you should do in the following work. >> reporter: one reason for the unclean air is poor living conditions of low-income families including migrant workers. this ngo hopes to inform government officials about the tight spot these chinese are in and how it makes pollution worse.

kuango tago, nhk world, beijing. populous, prosperous, pushing ahead. chinas' rise brought it wealth, power and problems. an income gap divides its people. pollution threatens their health. and disputes at sea strain relations with its neighbors. find out about the challenges china faces on "newsline." we have an update on the weather, and rachel ferguson is standing by. rachel. >> hi there, gene. yeah, if we head into eastern asia, the end of the workweek, there's going to be a cold blast coming into northeastern china and the korean peninsula. there's a low-pressure system brewing here, and it's gsing to bringing a dose of winter. ten centimeters of snow as well as very gusty winds. that could also affect your visibility at times. and it's certainly going to be bringing temperatures down way below average. as for japan, some showers moving through. most of these are rain showers

for the time being. in the upper elevations, a little bit of snow. as we head into the weekend, it's going to be quite pleasant and calm, fair over the next couple of days. warmer, too. certainly up to averages. but the next cold snap will come when this system from china comes across the middle of next week. down towards the south, scattered showers and thunderstorms across the philippines. but the heavy rain is going to be targeting vietnam today. and you can see just around here, about 180 millimeters of rain showing up on this model in the next 72 hours. so flooding and landslides a high risk here. one more tropical system to talk about, a depression that's heading into southern india. this one also bringing about 100 millimeters of rain widely where the storm is. you can see it coming in. i'll click to the next slide. you see it moving across the northern tip of sri lanka and southern india, but it's also going to be spreading a lot of moisture right up towards the mideastern coast. as we head on into the americas,

another big snowstorm to talk about. this one coming out of canada. and it's going to be affecting the pacific northwest from friday into saturday. this one also bringing a lot of snow and some below-average temperatures. we'll go ahead and show you in the gray parts, this is where you can be expecting the heaviest snow. maybe 25 to 50 centimeters, locally up to 60 centimeters up in the mountains. as for coastal areas, showers down towards the u.s. but for western canada there, vancouver island, a sleeting mix. you could get some slush. it definitely could make for difficult driving. especially with strong winds coming in that could be blowing that snow around. out towards the east, well, you've had your cold snap this week. now things are warming up a little bit. back up to seasonal averages. you should see your temperatures move. showers will also be moving from the southeast up towards the mid-atlantic. here are your temperatures across the u.s., canada and mexico. eight degrees in vancouver and ten in seattle with just showers, but that will start to shift into saturday. 16 in washington, d.c., and 13

in new york city with plenty of sunshine available. and 21 degrees in l.a. on into europe, up towards the north, it's going to be wet and windy with snow in the mountains as well. mostly scandinavia. this system will rattle in the baltic states. towards the south, a trio of pressure systems keeping things unstable through iberia towards turkey. that's the setup for the weekend. there will be dry and calm conditions from the british isles towards russia, but it will be somewhat cooler with that cold air spilling out from the northern system. here are your temperatures for europe on friday. eight degrees in london with sunshine. six in stockholm. also sunshine here and in warsaw with four for the high. you'll see showers in kiev and vienna. also down in athens, things are cooling down to the upper teens here and in rome. here's your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

>> international aid continues to arrive on the european. too late for many. the grim task as burying the death continues. it rises to over 4,000. overshadowed by a massacre four years ago, the biggest international event in decades forced sri lanka. these memories revive of the tamil tiger. he leaders are boycotting. and the hunt is on for a french priest kidnapped in cameroon fears rise as georges vandenbeusch has already being taken over the border